Leaving a Nebulous State of Care for Patients With NMOSD: Bruce Cree, MD, PhD

Author(s):

The clinical research director at the UCSF Multiple Sclerosis Center shared some of the takeaways from his research for the clinical community of specialists treating patients with NMOSD.

“The good news for patients is that as we sit here today, they have not 1 choice, but 3 choices for disease-modifying therapies that have been proven to be beneficial in NMOSD.”

Over the course of the last several years, the treatment landscape of neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) has experienced a massive growth relative to its prior state, which Bruce Cree, MD, PhD, MCR, FAAN, described as “nebulous.” Now, a trio of therapies are available for the treatment of this disorder: inebilizumab (Uplizna; Viela Bio), satralizumab (Enspryng; Genentech), and eculizumab (Soliris; Alexion).

Cree, the clinical research director of the UCSF Multiple Sclerosis Center, and professor of clinical neurology at UCSF Weill Institute for Neurosciences, presented a few posters on the Viela Bio product at the 2021 American Academy of Neurology (AAN) Annual Meeting, April 17-22. These posters detailed long-term data on the monoclonal antibody’s efficacy and safety in patients with NMOSD.^1,2 All told, the open-label extension (OLE) of the N-MOmentum trial (NCT02200770) showed that inebilizumab continued to provide benefits similar to those seen in the randomized controlled period of the trial—a welcome sign for physicians like Cree.

In this interview with NeurologyLive, he discussed the impact that these approvals have had on the care of patients and the advantages that disease-specific agents have brought to the population and shared his experience as an investigator on some of these trials. Additionally, he shared some of the takeaways for the clinical community of specialists treating patients with NMOSD.

For more coverage of AAN 2021, click here.

REFERENCES
1. Cree B, Bennett J, Weinshenker B, et al. Long-term efficacy outcomes with inebilizumab treatment in NMOSD: the N-MOmentum trial. Presented at 2021 American Academy of Neurology Annual Meeting; April 17-22. Abstract P15.076
2. Cree B, Bennett J, Weinshenker B, et al. Long-term safety outcomes with inebilizumab treatment in NMOSD: the N-MOmentum trial. Presented at 2021 American Academy of Neurology Annual Meeting; April 17-22. Abstract P15.100